Repair bill for stricken bulker will run into ‘millions’

RAY SMUTS THE VERY name of the holed bulk carrier Cape Africa is ironic for she is in considerable trouble in that very region and could end up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean unless timely measures to save her succeed. Last Monday (April 26) the master of the 150 000-ton, 270-metre long, vessel carrying a load of iron ore from Brazil to Japan, alerted the Cape Town authorities that a hole had been discovered in the third hatch on the bow port side, later estimated by crew at 20 metres long by 2 metres high. Fearing the likelihood of oil pollution - the 15-year-old vessel valued at possibly US$15 million is carrying some 18 000 tons of bunker fuel - the South African Maritime Safety Authority ordered her to venture no closer than 120 nautical miles west off Cape Town until the owners, Uming Shipping of Taiwan, were able to come up with an acceptable plan of action. The powerful salvage tug Smit Amandla (formerly the John Ross) has been in position between 120 and 130 nautical miles off the west coast from the outset. The current initiative is for repairs to be effected in deeper seas. (A specialist team of surveyors assessed conditions on Thursday). Salvage expert and master mariner Godfrey Needham is not directly involved in the operation but told FTW on Sunday that the first move would be to transfer all the oil to other vessels, an operation that could take at least two days, and then stabilise the carrier to prevent any further “water ingress” into the hull. There is however a danger the Cape Africa could sink if the weather turns inclement. Needham estimates that the repair bill could run into several million US dollars.